Looking back and forging ahead...

On January 19th our Tapestry of Grace(TOG) coop of 6 families came together for our unit celebration. It was basically an opportunity for the children to present information regarding all they have learned since we began studying this time period in September before we move on to our next unit of study. It's also a wonderful chance to be together as families and to give the dads a front row seat to observe all we and our kiddos have been busy doing these past 4+ months. I will confess, the thought of having to pull together an event in January, just after settling down from holiday festivities, was a bit wearying to me and I was tempted to do as little as possible in preparation for the big event. In the end, the Lord graced us all with the energy and ideas for a successful celebration. I think we all walked away from that evening so grateful for the effort exerted, and very thankful for the opportunity we had to step back and take in all that our children (and us moms!) really have accomplished and learned. I'm so blessed to be walking this path with these godly ladies and their precious children!!!
Forging ahead( and learning right alongside of my children!),
MamaB.

G wrote a short essay about Francis Scott Key. We almost missed a huge blessing in studying about his life because the book came in to the library the week after we needed to read it. We decided however to read it anyway because I had assigned G this topic to report on. We were encouraged to learn that due to his moral convictions, Francis Scott Key set all of his slaves free and convinced many of his friends to do the same. Not only this but he grew concerned about the well being of all these freed slaves and was actually an integral part of establishing the first colony of freed slaves in you guessed it...LIBERIA!! He spent 25 years of his life raising money in helping this country begin on a firm foundation. It was a neat personal connection to our historical studies!!

C gave presentations about George Washington , James Madison, and Johnny (Appleseed) Chapman.He did a great job incorporating his IEW skills, a writing technique Mrs. B has been skillfully teaching a group of students in one of our Home Schooler's Day Out classes. I just love it when the kids are able to carry over skills learned into other areas...(in this case not just in writing class :)

Can you believe this strapping young man is our 12 year old?! Where has the time gone? P did a fine job reporting on Napoleon ,the Congress of Vienna, and Simon Bolivar .

Coop kiddos enjoying a delicious meal together!

Mrs. B came up with some very fun games that highlighted the period of time we were studying.

Our time line(we are using TOG-Year 3 )...from George Washington up until the James Madison's presidency. Each card represents a topic studied and a presentation given by one of the coop children.